


Nightmares

by Karria



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Death, Fire, Gen, Violence, mentions of canon ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 18:39:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10645716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karria/pseuds/Karria
Summary: "True, I talk of dreams,Which are the children of an idle brain,Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,Which is as thin of substance as the air"Romeo and Juliet





	Nightmares

_"True, I talk of dreams,_

_Which are the children of an idle brain,_

_Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,_

_Which is as thin of substance as the air"_

_Romeo and Juliet_

 

Vax dreams about fire.

The orange flames are everywhere around him, engulfing him, eating him alive. He tries to escape, but he can’t find a way out. He sees his clothes catching fire and flames on his body covering him, as if trying to catch him. He can feel his skin melting in terrible, burning sensation. He sees Keyleth, jumping into flames and wants to call out to her, but he can’t make any sound.  He follows her, but there’s more fire, and _he can’t jump, he can’t, he’s such a coward._ So he just watches, as his body turns to ash and vanishes in hot flames.

In his dreams, he sees his sister in a cold stone tomb, dead. She’s wearing his attire- the Raven Queen’s armour. He prays and prays, but no matter how long he is kneeling on the ground, there is no response.

He touches his sister’s face, and it transforms, and grows, and soon he stands before the Raven Queen’s unmoving, unforgiving mask. Her cold eyes are judging his every move, and he realizes she’s holding a familiar golden thread.

She pulls it and Vax wakes up just before it snaps, covered in cold sweat.

**

In her dreams, Vex sees a fire as well, but it’s a different one.

She watches her village being burnt to the ground, with cold realization that her mother is dead. She watches Thordak burn her childhood house, and she wants to take her bow out and shoot an arrow, but she’s a helpless child. So she cries, for her mother, brother, Vox Machina, _anyone_ but no one ever comes.

In her dreams, she sees Percy, covered in some, with his mask on his face.

“Take off the mask, darling,” she pleads, but he doesn’t move. The gun in his hand twitches a little bit, as he leans to her ear and whispers.

“Don’t worry, my dear. I’ll break the world for us.”

She dreams about her father’s disappointed face, as he mocks her.

“You are nothing,” he says “You are a merely a nuisance. Do you think you could ever achieve anything by yourself?” Syldor sighs deeply. “If only your mother wasn’t human.”

_If only._

She dreams about her meeting with Saundor, but in her dream, it’s different. She is holding a bow and arrow pointed at him, but she hesitates.

“I agree,” she says, and watches in horror, as her bow turns into roots of a tree, and they pierce her arms, slowly and painfully turning her into a tree as well. She looks at Percy and sees his shocked face, full of disbelief. She wants to say she’s sorry, but as she opens her mouth the roots grow into it and she can’t speak anymore.

And Saundor smiles.

**

Before his eyes close for the last time, Tiberius sees the fall of his homeland, and it’s worse than any nightmare he could’ve had.

**

Grog doesn’t dream often, but when he does, it’s about blood. He holds Craven Edge in his hand, slashing at his enemies, as the sword whispers to him.

And he wants more.

So Grog fights on, and on, and on, unless he’s too tired and he stops to ask his friends where they are eating dinner today, and he sees them all on the ground, bloodied and dead. And he realizes it’s his fault, that _he_ killed them all when he wasn’t paying attention.

“NO!” he roars and runs to them, but it’s too late. There’s Vax lying on the ground with his head cut off. Vex is lying nearby, her bow nowhere to be seen. Percy and Keyleth are right by his feet, and none of them are breathing. Scanlan is crushed into the ground, his tiny body broken and slumped over a rock.

As he finds Pike, he takes her into his arms, tears rolling off his face. She is yet alive, barely breathing. When she opens her eyes, he can see that they are full of fear.

“Why?” she asks, and he cannot find an answer.

The Craven Edge laughs in his mind.

**

Percy has more nightmares than he can count, and they are all connected to people.

His first nightmare consists only of sounds: of his family’s screams, Delilah laugh, sounds of fighting, sound of Cassandra’s body hitting the ground when he escapes. He hears his breath as he runs, his heartbeat, and except that there’s only darkness.

His second nightmare is made of smoke and shadows, and he sees himself in it; a lost man with a demon ruling over his soul. In the dream, he talks to Orthax like he’s an old friend, someone to rely on.

He puts his mask on and takes a shot into the darkness.

His third nightmare is Anna Ripley, and it’s more terrifying than Percy would ever admit. She always finds a different way to torture him, even after her death.

He dreams of Briarwoods, he dreams of Anders, he dreams of Vex falling in the Ziggurat.

He won’t tell anyone that some nights he’s too afraid to close his eyes.

 **

Scanlan sees his mother’s face, with every possible detail.  He doesn’t remember anything other than that about his dream, but as he wakes up, he feels like he never went to sleep in the first place.

He dreams about the power of suude travelling in his vains, but after short moments-it disappears, and so does his confidence. He is normal again, and he can’t do anything.

He realizes how useless he is, and it hurts.

He sees Vox Machina, the demigods he travels with, walking in front of him, talking between each other. He slowly watches as they walk further and further away, not realizing that they are leaving him behind.

No one looks back.

He dreams of Kaylie, looking at him with a mix of rage, sadness and disappointment.

“You promised!” she yells, and he tries to explain, but she does not listen. She walks away, and it’s almost as the moment he saw his mother for the last time, and he runs after her, but never catches up.

She doesn’t look back either.

**

Pike dreams about storms on the sea, about the harsh wind and cold water. She fights with exhaustion, as the captain yells at her; an order that she barely hears because of the storm. Another wave comes, and before she realizes, she gets thrown off the ship. Salty water fills her mouth and she tries to swim up, but she realizes after a moment, she doesn’t know where up is anymore.

She dreams about Vox Machina, coming back to her, everytime with another friend dead. She sees the hope in her eyes as they look at her, and she knows how much everybody relies on her. So she prays, but Saren Rae is cold and distant and in that moment, Pike realizes she failed.

In her dreams, she sees Scanlan in the Thordak fight, as he dies. She rushes over to resurrect him, and he looks up at her, but as he does, she sees his face is half rotten. He smiles at her and reaches to her with his arm, but there is no flesh on it. Cold bones touch her cheek, as he speaks.

“Don’t worry, I’m just a little cold.”

**

In her dreams, Keyleth sees her father.

He’s different than usual. His eyes are cold and his voice harsh. He explains that she is not fit to be their leader. That she is disposable. That she should give up on her Aramente.

She dreams about her people, looking at her with dismay and anger. She was not able to protect them, and she should be replaced. So she gives up and leaves, being a disappointment to everyone, but most of all- to herself.

In her dreams, she watches Vax and all of her friends grow old. She watches them wither and die, and as the years go on, she’s the only one alive. In her dreams, she’s the only one left to care for their tombs, because nobody else remembers or cares.

In her dreams, they all die during a fight with the Kraken except her, and she is not even able to recover their bodies.

Sometimes she dreams about Vax, with a large shadow of Raven Queen lurking over him, always watching, waiting. She realizes that it is inevitable, that his fate would always be connected to his goddess and she fears that there might be not enough of his time left for her.

Sometimes when she wakes up, she thinks the shadow’s still there.


End file.
